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A review by thebakersbooks
Impostors by Scott Westerfeld
4.0
Rounded up from 3.5 stars.
I had such high hopes for this book, and while it delivered in some ways, it was ultimately disappointing. (I'll explain in a minute why I rounded my rating up instead of down.)
The dealbreaker for me was pacing. This is going to be the first in a series, so this book's plot could (and in my opinion, should) have been spread out a bit more.I think a good break would've been Frey's father's attack on the city of Victoria. That would've allowed more time for Frey's subterfuge in the city and more time to develop her relationship with Col. As it stands, the switch from Frey's body-double act at home to her time in Victoria to joining the rebels and the Palafox army feels rushed. The level of devotion/trust between Frey and Col also seems unrealistic.
However, Westerfeld got quite a few things right. First was the inclusion of a character with they/them pronouns. Second was the worldbuilding; it's the same setting as the Uglies series, but a few years later. I would've liked to see it updated and expanded more, but it's still consistent and interesting to read about. Finally, the character development and the exciting ending were just what I'd expect from a Westerfeld novel.
In the end, this novel didn't feel as special to me as the Uglies trilogy (or even Extras, the redheaded stepchild of that series). I'm going to read the sequel because I like how Frey's character is growing and I'm interested in the plot; I just hope the pacing will allow more breathing room next time. I rounded up to four stars because this is a YA novel and I'm outside the target age range—I read and loved the Uglies series at 17, and I suspect I would've enjoyed Imposters just as much in my teens.
I recommend Imposters with reservations. Unless you really loved Uglies et. al, Imposters feels like a cookie-cutter dystopian novel a decade after it would've been relevant to the genre.
I had such high hopes for this book, and while it delivered in some ways, it was ultimately disappointing. (I'll explain in a minute why I rounded my rating up instead of down.)
The dealbreaker for me was pacing. This is going to be the first in a series, so this book's plot could (and in my opinion, should) have been spread out a bit more.
However, Westerfeld got quite a few things right. First was the inclusion of a character with they/them pronouns. Second was the worldbuilding; it's the same setting as the Uglies series, but a few years later. I would've liked to see it updated and expanded more, but it's still consistent and interesting to read about. Finally, the character development and the exciting ending were just what I'd expect from a Westerfeld novel.
In the end, this novel didn't feel as special to me as the Uglies trilogy (or even Extras, the redheaded stepchild of that series). I'm going to read the sequel because I like how Frey's character is growing and I'm interested in the plot; I just hope the pacing will allow more breathing room next time. I rounded up to four stars because this is a YA novel and I'm outside the target age range—I read and loved the Uglies series at 17, and I suspect I would've enjoyed Imposters just as much in my teens.
I recommend Imposters with reservations. Unless you really loved Uglies et. al, Imposters feels like a cookie-cutter dystopian novel a decade after it would've been relevant to the genre.